Efficacy and safety of interleukin-6 receptor antagonists in adult patients admitted to intensive care unit with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The purpose of the systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6) antagonists (tocilizumab, sarilumab) in adult patients with severe or critical COVID-19. A systematic review of the literature was conducted in Medline, Cochrane and Embase databases, and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP) and ClinicalTrials.gov from the inception dates to10 January 2023. Randomized clinical trials comparing IL-6 receptor antagonists (tocilizumab, sarilumab) with a placebo or usual care treatment for adult patients with severe or critical COVID-19 were identified. Two independent reviewers performed the assessment and selection of eligible studies, assessed study quality and extracted data. Relative risk (RR), mean difference (MD), and 95% confidence interval (CI) with random-effects models was performed in meta-analysis. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology was used to assess the quality of the evidence. The search retrieved a total of 11 RCTs involving 5028 participants were eligible for meta-analysis. Our findings suggest that as the new drug used in adult patients with severe or critical COVID-19, IL-6 antagonists (tocilizumab, sarilumab) may reduce the length of ICU stay and hospital stay. However, they did not significantly increase the risks of serious adverse events and did not reduce all-cause mortality (28-day, 14-day, and 7-day).